CdA makes the Huffington Post

Lake CdA from my room at the CdA Resort during a recent stay. Cindy Hval

A recent opportunity to speak at a regional conference of pharmacists took me to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a city layered with complexity. With a population of about 50,000, CDA (as they call it up there) has clean air, beautiful mountains, gorgeous surroundings, and a political climate with about as mixed a bag as you could find. Northern Idaho has been known to many as a hotspot for white supremacists, and this has defined the area to many outsiders for years.

Unbeknownst to me, a big topic in the area recently has been a proposal by the local government to adopt anti-discrimination language offering new protection to local LGBT citizens. The day I arrived, I found the Couer d’Alene Press , the colorful local newspaper, predictably dominated by letters, articles and editorials about the issue.

One “My Turn” reader column was penned by a local pastor opposing the ordinance. I had forgotten about this argument, fortunately living in a relatively liberal urban area of Seattle where we don’t hear much about “no special rights for gays,” at least not anymore. But reading the pastor’s column reminded me of the dangerous appeal and power of such an argument, because the “no special rights for the gays” argument is simply a veiled way of saying, “Here they come, and they’re going to take away your values, your tradition, and your beliefs.” Read more. Jim Anderson, Huffington Post

How do you think CdA/North Idaho fared in this article?